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My 1986 Coastal Barracuda has 18" diameter by 16" pitch, 3 blade props. Dual Crusader 270hp 350ci engines with 1:1 Vee Drives. I am thinking about knocking 1/4" of pitch off of the props because I have plenty of WOT, around 4,700 rpms to be exact. If I knock 1/4" - 1/2" off the pitch I might be able to get more top end without over revving the engines. I'd like to keep my WOT around 4,250.

Hey stp - I'm no expert, but isn't that backwards? If you want to knock down your WOT, you would want to increase pitch. I looked it up - found this:
"If you're changing pitch on a recreational boat, remember that each inch of pitch is worth about 200 rpm. Lowering the pitch will increase rpm and vice versa. For example, going from a 23 pitch to a 21 pitch will increase engine rpm by about 400 revolutions."

BTW, I have a 1986 37' aft cabin with twin Merc 230's (305) and V-drives. 18x16 3 blade props. Not sure about the trani ratio, but guessing it would be a slightly higher ratio due to the lesser HP since we have the same props.

WOT is supposed to be 4400. I can only hit that if the boat actually gets on plane, otherwise the drag is too high - so the max I get is about 4100. Yes the boat is very back heavy. We also have a genny back there. My hunch is that HM never intended this hull to carry the aft cabin, twin engines, and a generator in the back. I'm thinking about adding a 2-3' hull extension under the swim platform to compensate. That should make planing easier and the boat should sit in the water more level.

That would be an ambitious project. There's one on Boattrader that was converted to outboards with jack plates. Not really a good solution for you since you'd lose the swim platform, but it's a neat modification nonetheless:

Nice windlass - and of course that's where it wants to go. But it kills the front deck area. If I do it, I'll probably put it off to the port side as inconspicuously as possible. I have a LOA problem in our marina and can't add another foot to the length. I can get away with it under the swim platform because that's already part of the LOA.

Interesting idea to put the windlass off to the side. I'm probably going to put mine dead center. I have the sea package so I'll probably mount the windlass right to the deck and run an anchor roller through the sea package. Biggest issue I anticipate is not being able to see the anchor or the roller. I'm going to investigate mounting a camera at the bow and a glare free screen on the bridge so I can see the anchor. Finding a screen that you can read in direct sunlight may be a challenge.